This refers to edicts written down in a Japanese phonetic script. Originally this referred to the words spoken by the emperor, but later this term came to specifically refer to the text of these words. Compared with texts written in classical Chinese and promulgated that were called "imperial edicts (¾ÛÄ¼, shōchō)" or "written edicts (¾Û½ñ, shōsho)," imperial commands written in phonetic script and announced verbally were known as senmyō. These edicts have been proclaimed since ancient times down till the early modern era, but after the Heian era edicts composed in classical Chinese were revered, and senmyō were only used for edicts for public announcements for shrines and imperial burials. By the fourth month of 1873 the term senmyō was abolished from the legal statutes, so when the emperor conducted a ceremony himself, it was called okōmon. When an imperial messenger (chokushi) is dispatched, this is called gosaimon, and when promotions in rank or post are announced, this is known as sakumei.

Origins The first appearance of the word senmyō in the ancient corpus is in Shoku nihongi, eleventh day of the third month of 728, embedded in a regulation, where the word is used as a verb ("announce the word"). In the Heian era, we see an example in the Kiritsubo Chapter of Genji monogatari, "Because he was to be granted the Third Rank, an imperial messenger arrived and then read the senmyō, and it was a sad sight." As this example shows, the term senmyō had become to refer to edicts written in phonetic script. Takahashi ujibumi, which was presented to court in 789, contains the phrase "a senmyō messenger." The oldest surviving senmyō is found on a mokkan (wooden document) that was unearthed from the Fujiwara Capital site and reads, "¡Ähe said to accept the command, and grieved for the inner provinces of the land he rules over....Give ear all to the great [decree?] that [someone] has decreed..." In the present senmyō refers to the sixty-two edicts contained in Shoku nihongi that are considered Shintō classics, and have an important place in the classical cannon from the perspective of literary history and the history of the Japanese language. Other ancient examples of senmyō are found in the Shōsōin Documents where one edict is dated 757, and one other in the Gengōji engi (the only surviving witness of this is the Daigoji manuscript that was copied in 1165). Regarding the number of edicts for each reign as recorded in Shoku nihongi, there are two from Monmu, two from Genmei, nine from Shōmu, ten from Kōken, six from Junnin, eighteen from Shōtoku, twelve from Kōnin, and three from Kanmu. The contents of these edicts are varied, and deal with imperial ascension (sokui), abdication, removing the emperor, changing the regnal year name, establishing an empress, establishing a crown prince, removing a crown prince, giving posthumous titles, appointing a minister, granting rank, giving advice, presenting awards and praise, sentencing for a crime, and mourning the dead. The subject of the edict normally was the emperor, but there were also times when the edict came from a Queen Dowager or the Empress. The edict was addressed to a great number of people, usually listed as "Imperial princes, princes, ministers, the hundred officials, and all the people under the heavens," but there were also times when an edict was addressed to an individual, or the Rushana Buddha or the Great Deity of the Hachiman Shrine, or to the spirit of a deceased person.